The recent withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has intensified security challenges for Nigeria and the broader West African region.
With Chad also considering its exit, experts warn that the region’s collective security architecture is at risk of collapse, allowing terrorist groups to expand their operations unchecked.
Speaking at a high-level security meeting in Abuja, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, emphasized that the withdrawal had disrupted long-standing security arrangements, particularly affecting the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
“The recent withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States from ECOWAS has disrupted existing security frameworks. This development has direct implications for the MNJTF, which has played a crucial role in countering Boko Haram and ISWAP across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon,” he stated.
With Chad contemplating its own withdrawal, the operational effectiveness of the MNJTF is expected to decline further, placing greater responsibility on Nigeria’s military to address escalating security threats. The Nigerian Air Force, Abubakar stressed, must adopt a more robust and adaptive strategy to fill the void left by these developments.
Rising Extremist Threats and Regional Instability
The departure of these Sahelian states from ECOWAS comes at a time when terrorism in the region is at its peak. According to security experts, terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda affiliates and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) are exploiting weak governance structures to expand their influence. The porous borders of the Lake Chad Basin have further facilitated the movement of arms, fighters, and illicit goods, sustaining insurgent operations.
“West Africa’s security landscape in 2024 remained highly complex. The Sahel region continued to be a hotspot for terrorism and insurgency, with extremist groups taking advantage of weak governance. In the Lake Chad Basin, porous borders have allowed these elements to persist, threatening regional stability,” Abubakar warned.
Additionally, the Gulf of Guinea remains a hotspot for maritime crimes, including piracy, illegal fishing, and crude oil theft. Increased aerial surveillance and inter-agency cooperation are urgently needed to mitigate these threats.
Growing Threats from Terrorist Expansion
The Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, highlighted the growing confidence of terrorist groups, warning that their recent successes have emboldened them to expand operations into coastal West Africa, including Benin Republic.
“As member countries faced increased threats and attacks from extremists across the northern borders, the need for a stronger security mechanism became even more imperative.
“The successes recorded by these terrorists have further emboldened their operational capabilities with their attempted expansion towards coastal West African countries such as Benin Republic,” Laka stated.
Similarly, the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Maj. Gen. Richard Gyane, reported that terrorist activities in the Sahel had surged dramatically. Between 2007 and 2023, the region’s share of global terrorism-related deaths increased from just 1% to a staggering 43%.
Way Forward: Strengthening Regional Security
Given the evolving security dynamics, West African nations must adopt a proactive and collaborative approach to counter-terrorism. Below are key recommendations to address the growing threats:
1. Strengthening Regional Security Cooperation
- ECOWAS must intensify diplomatic engagements with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to explore potential reintegration or alternative security partnerships.
- Joint security initiatives, such as the Accra Initiative and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), must be reinforced with better funding and strategic coordination.
- Cross-border intelligence-sharing should be improved to track and disrupt terrorist movements across the region.
2. Enhancing Counter-Terrorism Strategies
- Governments should invest in drone defense technology to counter terrorists’ increasing use of drones in attacks.
- A dedicated task force should be created to monitor and disrupt terrorist financing networks, particularly those linked to illicit trade in arms, drugs, and human trafficking.
- Intelligence agencies must increase cyber surveillance to prevent online radicalization and recruitment by extremist groups.
3. Boosting Military Readiness
- West African nations must modernize their air and ground forces by acquiring advanced surveillance technology, night-vision equipment, and armored vehicles.
- The Nigerian Air Force and other security forces must improve training on asymmetric warfare to effectively combat insurgents’ guerrilla tactics.
- More investment should be made in joint military exercises among ECOWAS states to improve coordination and preparedness.
4. Addressing Root Causes of Terrorism
- Governments must implement economic development programs targeting vulnerable populations in conflict-prone areas to prevent radicalization.
- Strengthening governance, improving public service delivery, and promoting social cohesion will help counter the extremist narrative and reduce local support for insurgent groups.
- Community-based security initiatives should be encouraged to build trust between civilians and security agencies, ensuring local cooperation in intelligence gathering.
5. Strengthening Maritime and Border Security
- Increased naval patrols and aerial surveillance in the Gulf of Guinea are necessary to curb piracy, illegal fishing, and crude oil theft.
- Border control agencies must deploy biometric tracking systems and surveillance drones to monitor and control cross-border movement of weapons and insurgents.
The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali from ECOWAS has placed significant pressure on Nigeria and other West African nations to reinforce their security frameworks. Without immediate and coordinated action, terrorist groups could further exploit regional vulnerabilities, expanding their reach into coastal states.
A combination of military strength, regional cooperation, intelligence-sharing, and economic development is crucial to preventing the Sahel’s instability from spreading further into West Africa. The time to act is now, before the region experiences further security deterioration.
